Turning Policy to Practice : Highlighting the City of Yellowknife’s Energy Efficiency Building Bylaws

Following adoption of the City of Yellowknife’s Community Energy Plan in 2006, City Council and staff began the process of implementing the plan’s recommendations, including a regulatory change to the City’s Building Bylaw, which incorporated energy efficiency standards into new home and larger building construction. As one of the first municipalities in Canada to attempt such a bylaw amendment, Yellowknife faced significant push back from local developers but was able to overcome this opposition with consistent messaging, a thorough cost-benefit analysis, and a regulatory transition period that allowed developers to be educated on the benefits of improved energy efficiency for their clients.

Join ECO Canada and Mark Heyck for this informative session on what your community can learn from Yellowknife with the implementation of energy efficiency standards.

Speaker:

Mark Heyck

Executive Director – Arctic Energy Alliance

Mark was born and raised in Yellowknife, NWT. He served three terms on Yellowknife City Council from 2003 to 2012, was Deputy Mayor from 2006 to 2012, and was elected Mayor in 2012 and re-elected in 2015.  During his time on Council, Mark chaired the City’s Heritage Committee and Community Energy Planning Committee.  From 2007 to 2017, he served as a member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund Council. Mark joined the Arctic Energy Alliance as Executive Director in the fall of 2018.